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Cary Grant Facts
| Sign | Capricorn |
| Born |
Jan 18, 1904 Horfield, Bristol |
| Died |
Nov 29, 1986 Davenport, IA |
| Age | Died at 82 |
| Total Facts | 129 |
He had one of his daughter Jennifer's first baby teeth encased in Lucite.
He initially decided to end his 1953 retirement just to make To Catch a Thief (1955). When the film proved to be a huge success he agreed to make further films.
He kept himself slender and fit until he retired acting, never weighing above 180 pounds.
He never played a villain.
He never said "Judy, Judy, Judy" in the movies, which he credits to Larry Storch, but he did say "Susan, Susan, Susan" in Bringing Up Baby (1938).
He once phoned hotel mogul Conrad Hilton in Istanbul, Turkey, to find out why his breakfast order at the Plaza Hotel, which called for muffins, came with only one and a half English muffins instead of two. When Grant insisted that the explanation (a hotel efficiency report had found that most people ate only three of the four halves brought to them) still resulted in being cheated out of a half, the Plaza Hotel changed its policy and began serving two complete muffins with breakfast. From then on, Grant often spoke of forming an English Muffin-Lovers Society, members of which would be required to report any hotel or restaurant that listed muffins on the menu and then served fewer than two.
He remained close to Barbara Hutton's son Lance Reventlow after their divorce. The boy regularly stayed with Grant on some weekends. Grant referred to him as his son, was devastated when he died in a plane crash and helped Barbara with the funeral arrangements.
He strongly disliked Method acting.
He turned down the role of Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady (1964) because he felt he would either not be as good as Rex Harrison, who had originated the part on the London stage and on Broadway, or he would be accused of imitating Harrison. He told producer Jack L. Warner that unless Harrison was cast, he would not even go to see the film.
He voted for Richard Nixon in 1968 and 1972, Gerald Ford in 1976 and Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984.
He was a big baseball fan, originally supporting the New York Giants and then the L.A. Dodgers.
He was director Howard Hawks's first choice to play the lead in Man's Favorite Sport? (1964), but he turned it down because he was 59 and leading lady Paula Prentiss was 25 years old.
He was voted the 6th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
Held a press conference announcing his retirement from acting early in 1953, saying he was very angry over Hollywood's treatment of director Charles Chaplin, who had recently been blacklisted for his liberal political beliefs.
His daughter, Jennifer Grant, gave birth to a son, Cary Benjamin Grant on August 12th, 2008.
His favorite after-shave was Acqua Di Parma.
His final appearance at the Academy Awards was in 1985 to present James Stewart with an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement.
His mother died in January 1973 at the age of 94.
His only child is Jennifer Grant whose mother is Dyan Cannon.
His performance as Dr. David Huxley in Bringing Up Baby (1938) is ranked #68 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).
His performance as T.R. Devlin in "Notorious" (1946) is ranked #16 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).
If you look closely at his teeth, you'll find that he only has one incisor (front tooth). Apparently when he was a boy he knocked out a tooth while ice skating. Rather than get into trouble with his father, he opted to go to a nearby dental college and have them gradually push his other teeth together to fill in the gap. Only one person (an eagle-eyed cinematographer) ever noticed and mentioned it to him. It's described in depth in the book "Evenings with Cary Grant".
In His Girl Friday (1940), his character remarks, "Archie Leach said that", a reference to his real name.
In 1957, he accepted the Oscar for "Best Actress in a Leading Role" on behalf of Ingrid Bergman, who wasn't present at the awards ceremony
In 1968, he and fellow actor and friend Michael Caine were walking together and a fan approached them, only recognizing Caine. At the end of the conversation, the fan turned to Grant and commented how accommodating today's film stars are with the public, to which Grant nodded in agreement.
In 1999 he was named the second Greatest Male Star of All Time of American cinema, after Humphrey Bogart, by the American Film Institute.
In keeping with his wishes, there was no funeral service.
In later years he always said the character he played in Father Goose (1964) came closest to his real self.
In March 1968 he was involved in a serious car crash in New York, but fortunately escaped with only minor injuries.
Initally accepted his role in Houseboat (1958) because he was dating Sophia Loren, whom he was madly in love with. After she went and married someone else, Cary, heartbroken, wanted to back out. He couldn't, but the director made sure the production was a smooth one.
Initially refused Stanley Donen's offer to appear in Charade (1963), but-realizing that it was a great part-accepted it after a while. He made one stipulation: Audrey Hepburn had to chase him, not visa-versa.
Introduced First Lady Betty Ford at the Republican National Convention in 1976.
Is portrayed by John Gavin in Sophia Loren: Her Own Story (1980) (TV) and by Michael-John Wolfe in The Aviator (2004)
Loved performing on network radio, where he often got to perform in roles different from his screen persona. He once told the producers of the radio series "Suspense," "Invite me back, invite me back.".
Made a public appeal for gun control following the assassination of his friend Robert F. Kennedy in June 1968.
Maintained a year-round suntan to avoid wearing make up.
Maintained good physical health until becoming ill with high blood pressure in the late 1970s. In October 1984 he suffered a minor stroke, which limited his appearances thereafter.
Often spoke of his relationship with Sophia Loren as one of the most passionate romances in his life.
On American Film Institute's list of top 100 U.S. love stories, compiled in June 2002, Grant led all actors with six of his films on the list. His An Affair to Remember (1957) was ranked #5; followed by: #44 The Philadelphia Story (1940) #46 To Catch a Thief (1955) #51 Bringing Up Baby (1938) #77 The Awful Truth (1937) #86 Notorious (1946)
On April 18, 1947, King George VI awarded Grant the King's Medal for Service in the Cause of Freedom, citing his "outstanding service to the British War Relief Society."
Once lived with the silent movie star William Haines.
Once shared a house with his close friend Noel Coward early in his Hollywood career.
One of his favorite poems was a bit of doggerel: "They bought me a box of tin soldiers,/I threw all the Generals away,/I smashed up the Sergents and Majors,/Now I play with my Privates all day."
Paramount Studios named him Cary Grant while he began his film career, because the similarity of the name to Gary Cooper, their biggest male star, (C.G. being an inversion of G.C.) and possibly because Clark Gable had the same initials. Gable and Cooper were born with their last names, however, with Grant having been born Archibald Leach.
Participated in an experimental psychotherapy program in which he was prescribed LSD. Betsy Drake encouraged him to take the drug (as part of a medical experiment), as he wanted to examine his failed marriages. He underwent about 100 sessions, and said that he benefited greatly from them.
People were surprised by his retirement in 1966 and, despite the attempts of directors as important as Howard Hawks, Billy Wilder, and even Stanley Kubrick to get him out of retirement and into their films, he never worked again.
Pictured on a 37¢ USA commemorative postage stamp in the Legends of Hollywood series, issued 15 October 2002.
Premiere Magazine ranked him as the #1 Movie Star of All Time in their "Stars in Our Constellation" feature (2005).
Ran away from home at 13 to join a mime troupe. His father tracked him down and brought him home, but he ran away again and rejoined the troupe.
Ranked #7 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]